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30th Oct 2019

Simon Brodkin: How I pranked FIFA and Sepp Blatter

Wil Jones

“I thought, ‘Sepp Blatter is really old, can I really prank this guy?’ Then I remembered he was the epicentre of FIFA corruption”

Comedian Simon Brodkin is known for two things: playing characters like cheeky chap Lee Nelson and preening Premier League footballer Jason Bent; and his elaborate pranks, which have included handing Theresa May a P45, jumping onstage with Kanye West at Glastonbury, and flooding a Donald Trump golf course with swastika-emblazoned balls.

Now, Brodkin is putting the characters to one side, and performing stand-up under his own name, as himself. After a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he is embarking on a 47-date nationwide tour, kicking off at the Leicester Square Theatre in November 2019, then continuing across the UK between February and May 2020.

Ahead of the tour, Brodkin came into the JOE offices to talk about one of his most infamous stunts. In 2015, he snuck into the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, and during a press conference threw a pile of money at now-disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Book tickets to see 100% Simon Brodkin at simonbrodkin.com.